photography by carla mcdonald
Arsenic and Old Lace
Theatre Memphis, 630 Perkins Ext.
Friday, October 14-October 30
Listen, I get that Halloween is coming up so you might want to delve into some spooky activities — trying your hand at contacting the dead and tempting the Grim Reaper to come a’knockin’ and whatnot. But just take a minute to consider your options.
It’s like this: Do you really want to dial the Death Number 999-9999 at midnight and request your biggest, boldest, deepest wish and have it answered the next day with the caveat that by dialing the number you are agreeing to an impending painful death, sometime in the near future? Sure, you might think, ‘Hey, this won’t kill me anytime soon, we all gotta die someday,’ but settle down that ego of yours unless you’re trying to get out of paying your next phone bill.
An alternative, of course, to dialing 999-9999 would be instead to call Theatre Memphis’ box office at 901-682-8323 and ask to buy some tickets to see Arsenic and Old Lace. And guess what, they’ll fulfill that wish, not at the cost of your god-forsaken life, but at the cost of a manageable $25. A much better deal, if you ask me, even though life is technically on the line. You see, the play’s about Mortimer Brewster, a drama critic, dealing with his two spinster aunts who poison old men, his brother who thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt, and his other brother who is on the lam for murder. How will it all end? Will all survive? You’ll have to see for yourself.
Performances run through October 31st, Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are also available online.
Photography by Rachel Baker
Master Works by Collage Dance Collective
Playhouse on the Square, 66 S. Cooper
Friday-Sunday, October 14-16
I recently learned about the Dream of the Dead Game, where you, like, invoke the dead by lighting candles and spilling salt in circles and then putting a photograph under your pillow and then going to sleep and letting the dead come to you in your most vulnerable state of slumber — and all I can say to that is a firm, resolute, absolute NO THANK YOU. If the dead are going to come to me, I’d better be awake for them with my running shoelaces double-knotted. Also, the idea of having the dead come into my dreams would be enough to keep me up at night and make this whole process moot — or worse, it might backfire and get me dragged into the next world by someone unknown creature. Bottom line: If the anticipation might end up killing you, it’s not worth it.
Alternatively, the anticipation that’s been racking up for Collage Dance Collective’s performance — well that’s worth it. The company is kicking off its 13th season with a killer triple bill, featuring Nacho Duato’s Gnawa, Ulysses Dove’s Vespers, and the father of American ballet George Balanchine’s Prodigal Son. Performances run Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets start at $20 and can be purchased online.
MoSH Fiesta: Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month
Museum of Science & History, 3050 Central
Friday, October 14, 6 p.m.
Whenever you’re in a 10+ story building and you ask yourself if you should play the Elevator Game, don’t. And for those of you who are blessed not to have heard of the Elevator Game, consider yourself unblessed because I’m about to tell you about it. Legend goes that if you press a series of elevator buttons, you’ll end up meeting a young woman on the fifth floor — a woman, who you cannot speak to or look at. After that, if the elevator ascends to the 10th floor and you exit, you’ll enter another world, where you will be all alone. What happens to the woman? I don't know. How to get back? Well, another series of elaborate button-pressing, and if that doesn’t work, you’ll be stuck in that new world. All by yourself. Forever. Dun dun dun.
But the question is why go to a different world via an elevator when you can go to MoSH and elevate Hispanic and Latinx communities right here in this world. This Friday, MoSH in partnership with Cazateatro Bilingual Theatre Group will host a celebration in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, where the whole family can enjoy vendors, performances, and a dance party while learning about the history of Hispanic and Latinx communities in Memphis.
Tickets ($20/adult and $15/youth) can be purchased online.
Photography by Chris Bair on Unsplash
Soulsville USA Festival
Soulsville USA, College & McLemore
Saturday, October 15, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
You know what doesn’t sound like a recipe for a good time: A porcelain doll, two mirrors, a lock of your hair, a candle, and five spoons of salt wrapped in paper. What do these ingredients make? A game of the Living Doll. And if you can’t infer from the name, you make a doll come to life with an unknown spirit and play hide-and-go-seek. If the doll finds you before you make it back to base, well, more than just the game has ended for you, my friend.
But if you prefer to be anywhere else as long as you’re not alone with a possessed porcelain doll, Memphis has options for you. At the top of the list this weekend is the Soulsville USA Festival. In addition to the stellar music lineup spread across three stages, the festival features free entry to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, a kids zone, with games and other fun activities for kids of all ages, health and fitness activities at Memphis Rox, vendors, food trucks, and more — all included in the free admission.
Photography by Kelsey Knight on Unsplash
Memphis Food & Wine Festival
Memphis Botanic Garden, 750 Cherry
Saturday, October 15, 6-10 p.m.
Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary. Nope. I’m getting bloody out of here. The whole point of the game is just to survive and not get killed by Bloody Mary. You know how else you can just not get killed by Bloody Mary? By not playing Bloody Mary. Go to the Memphis Food & Wine Festival instead for Pete’s sake. And if you won’t do it for Pete, do it for the wine and good food. After all, exceptional local, regional, national, and international chefs and vintners will be wining and dining you all night long. So instead of teasing Bloody Mary, taste once-in-a-lifetime servings of food designed for this specific event, sample more than 100 curated wines, and do it all with a great Memphis groove. Oh, and for an added bonus, the festival benefits the Mid-South Food Bank.
